Sewer authority to hike rates

Mark Moran / The Citizens' Voice
Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority, located in Hanover Township, will rely on an increase in sewer rates and a multi-million-dollar loan to pay for about $17.4 million worth of capital improvements.

An influx of money will fund improvements at the Wyoming Valley Sewer Authority.

Increased sewer rates and a multi-million-dollar loan will pay for about $17.4 million worth of capital improvements, the authority said in a press release Wednesday.

Mandates from the Environmental Protection Agency and deferring projects in the past mean "the time has come to make an investment in our infrastructure," the authority said in the release.

Rates will increase $60 by 2017. A single-family home currently pays $160 per year for sewer service, a rate that has not changed since it was set in 2006, the authority said.

The cost for a single-family home, or its equivalent in sewer needs, will increase to $184 per year in 2014, $196 in 2015, $208 in 2016 and $220 in 2017.

A rate increase of $3 per quarter is also scheduled for the second half of 2013. Residential customers can avoid the increased rate by paying the rest of their year's bill in full by June 3. Otherwise, they will pay $43 per quarter.

Improvements to the plant's incinerator are the most expensive change and will cost about $4.9 million. Those improvements will help meet air emissions regulations required under the Clean Air Act, according to the authority.

The nutrient removal system will get a $150,000 upgrade, which the authority said is necessary to meet EPA requirements. The Scranton Sewer Authority made a similar upgrade in 2012 to meet a federal mandate to reduce the nutrients, such as phosphorous and nitrogen, discharged into waterways that feed into and pollute the Chesapeake Bay.

Rate increases will pay for $3.7 million worth of improvements to the authority's plant, $2.86 million for main pipes and pumping stations, $1.26 million of work to the collections and stormwater systems, $1.04 million for vehicles and $139,000 for office equipment, the building and grounds and safety.

Loans will fund an additional $8.47 million worth of projects.

In 2011, the authority considered building a natural gas wastewater treatment facility but eventually decided against the idea. The plans released Wednesday didn't mention a natural gas wastewater treatment facility.

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